To grab validity, the Pistons' biggest ploy has been resorting to the past.

And despite the recent departure of the final player from their most recent NBA Championship team in 2004, Tayshaun Prince, yesteryear was still the featured item Sunday at The Palace when the Lakers visited.

Kobe Bryant played poorly during the '04 NBA Finals vs. the Pistons, but still ranks among the NBA's all-time greats. He was there Sunday. So was Steve Nash, although a shadow of the two-time MVP.

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Metta World Peace, aka Ron Artest, now 37, ranks with hockey's Claude Lemieux as the all-time most despised opponent of a Detroit team. When he got in a brief tussle with the Pistons' Brandon Knight Sunday, it brought back not-so-pleasant memories of Metta World Mayhem and The Palace Brawl.

For halftime entertainment, the Pistons rolled out Coolio, the latest of the blasts from the past they've "featured" at halftime since tumbling in the standings. Throughout the afternoon they kept spinning tunes from over the public address system from the likes of Young MC and Digital Underground. Ah, gosh, who didn't love the 1980s and 1990s, when The Palace was the place to see and be seen...

Hey, the Pistons have a glorious past -- three world titles in less than two decades in a league that operates on dynasties. Nobody is saying not to embrace it, but come on, isn't it time they move to the future?

At least there is finally hope. Despite a 98-97 loss to the aging Lakers (Betty White should be a Laker Girl), there is a speck of light at the end of the tunnel.

This is isn't a couple years ago. Then, the Pistons were trapped in the NBA's version of purgatory, the precarious area there is no chance of contending for a playoff spot, let alone a championship, yet with no real hope for the future.

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, in a relatively quick span, has acquired a core of young players, who could some day be part of a legitimate contending team.

Greg Monroe has unique skills for an NBA big man. He passes out of the post exceptionally well. He had good hands and is persistent on the offensive boards. While he isn't an explosive athlete, he has a nice skill set around the basket and can defend in the post.

Knight is young. This is just his second season. Consequently, he has ups and downs, but he does play hard, is athletic and will develop into a quality combination guard. Just how good is difficult to discern at this point, but there is an upside.

Center Andre Drummond is the diamond. He plays big around the basket, can run the floor and jump out of the gym and has already shown a tendency to improve. His upside drives right through the top of the chart. It's hardly a given, though, Drummond will be all he is capable of becoming. The NBA is littered with players starting to believe their own press clippings and forgetting what go them there. Drummond is raw and needs refinement. He is possibly the worst free thrower shooter in NBA history.

His job, first and foremost, is the dirty work -- guarding the rim and blocking shots, hitting the boards and dunking. It always will be, too. If he stops hustling, he will become just another NBA "athlete" with his potential as a "player" unrealized.

Kyle Singler was a very good draft pick. He can clearly play in the league for a contending team.

It's not enough to win a championship, but it is a start. Trading Prince did open enormous salary cap space this summer. It is up to Dumars not to waste it, which he did a couple years ago with the Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva signings.

The difference now is the Pistons have a situation in which they are trying to improve. Before, it was a plight with no end game in sight.

Here's some unsolicited advice for Pistons' coach Lawrence Frank, however. Play Drummond more. So, he didn't start quickly Sunday, playing him only nine of the first 33 minutes of the game and then lamenting about bad team defense for more than half of the game is embarrassing. And, please, can we see more of Drummond and Monroe on the floor at the same time? Rotating Monroe with Villanueva at the end of Sunday's game was weird.

The Pistons have four solid pieces to build around. Everything should be about driving those four to greatnesses collectively.

They are the Pistons' only chance to finally break from living in the past.